Public Television's WORLD Channel Announces Lineup for Season Three of Doc World

On World Refugee Day, public television's WORLD Channel announced THE LINEUP of films for season 3 of Doc World, a series that showcases stories that dive deep into the heart of international issues, giving viewers a chance to understand the lives and concerns of people BEYOND U.S. borders. The first three films of the season, kicking off Sunday, September 9, entitled: Sky and Ground, Los Comandos, and Towards the North, all follow refugees fleeing their homes IN SEARCH OF asylum.

The Emmy-winning WORLD Channel curates a national platform, online and on broadcast television, to make award-winning documentaries accessible to viewers at home.WORLD Channel is partnering with Show of Force to bring films from their Humanity on the Move initiative to viewers across the country.

"Our goal in creating these films is to shed light on different narratives surrounding immigration and refugees. In our partnership with WORLD Channel, we've got an incredible opportunity to reach so many more viewers through a national broadcast premiere" said Show of Force Executive Vice President Joshua Bennett. "Our hope is that sharing these immersive, human-centered stories will build empathy among viewers and empower them to give back."

WORLD Channel maximizes viewership through online and community screening opportunities for stations and partners.

"Doc World is a passport for our viewers to films from international MAKERS that illuminate the realities of people and societies from many nations," said WORLD Channel Executive Producer Chris Hastings. We see a very natural partnership with Show of Force, a production company and media organization that not only creates beautiful, eye-opening films, but also strives to give back to communities in need and effect change."

Television & Digital/Streaming Releases
Doc World airs Sundays at 10pm ET on WORLD Channel. Sky and Ground premieres Sunday, September 9th, followed by Los Comandos and Towards the North on Sunday, September 16th. Information on the full lineup of films for the season is now available on Doc World's website.

Doc World is available to stream on worldchannel.org and all station-branded PBS platforms including PBS.org, and on PBS apps for iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Chromecast. DOC WORLD is produced and curated by WORLD Channel. Major Funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Wyncote Foundation.

Synopsis SKY AND GROUND
A compelling, ground-level immersion into the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time, the award-winning documentary feature Sky & Ground accompanies the Nabi clan, a large, extended Syrian-Kurdish family, as they painstakingly make their way from their home in Aleppo, bombed out by the war, to the Idomeni refugee camp on the border of Greece and Macedonia. Their goal is Berlin, where they will reunite with family members and seek asylum but first they must make the arduous and dangerous journey through Serbia, Hungary and Austria. Directed by Talya Tibbon and Joshua Bennett. (See press screener above.)

Synopsis: LOS COMANDOS
Violence has overrun El Salvador. The emergency medical unit Los Comandos de Salvamento is standing up to the gangs' reign of terror. Sixteen-year-old Mimi is a dedicated Comando caught in the cross hairs. When her fellow Comando, 14-year-old Erick, is gunned down while serving, she faces pressure to flee El Salvador and head north. WINNER, Best Documentary Short at Austin Film Festival and WINNER, Best Short at Los Angeles Cinefest. FINALIST, CINE Golden Eagle award for Best Documentary Short. This film is now qualified for Academy Awards consideration. Directed by Joshua Bennett and Juliana Schatz-Preston. (See press screener above.)




Synopsis: TOWARDS THE NORTH
At a tiny refugee shelter in Tapachula, Mexico we meet Nelly and her daughter Joseline, who like millions of others, are fleeing extreme gang violence in Central America. With unprecedented intimacy, we enter their world and witness the daily battles of asylum seekers on the run: making the best of each day, meeting new friends and living in a constant state of fear. With their sights set on the U.S., mother and daughter cover the length of Mexico, facing immigration officials and taking selfies along the way - only to arrive in Tijuana where the US border suddenly becomes a dark reality. Directed by Jessica Chermayeff and Joshua Bennett. (See press screener above.)




About WORLD Channel
WORLD Channel delivers the best of public television's nonfiction, news and documentary programming. Th channel features original content from the heart of America's multicultural neighborhoods, creating award-winning series and specials, and offering a national platform to diverse filmmakers and communities through local public television stations and streaming online at worldchannel.org. WORLD Channel currently reaches markets representing 63% of U.S. TV households and millions more online, bringing powerful documentaries into people's lives and exploring the personal stories behind the headlines. WORLD has won numerous national honors including a Peabody and an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award, Tellys, a Media for a Just Society Award, two Lesbian & Gay Journalist Awards, a Gracie, an Asian American Journalists Award and many others. WORLD Channel also won the Radio Television Digital News Association's 2017 Kaleidoscope Award for its critically-acclaimed series, AMERICA REFRAMED and has received four National News & Documentary Emmy Nominations.

About Show of Force
Show of Force, founded in 2006 by veteran film and television producers Maro Chermayeff and Jeff Dupre, is known for creating award-winning feature documentaries, event television series, and groundbreaking transmedia projects. Their work includes the forthcoming 8-hour music series Soundbreaking, produced in partnership with legendary Beatles producer Sir George Martin; the Peabody and Emmy Award-winning Marina Abramovi?: The Artist is Present for HBO, Kehinde Wiley: An Economy of Grace, the 2014 SXSW Jury Prize winner for Best Documentary Short; Mann v. Ford, a feature-length documentary for HBO; the 6-hour PBS series Circus; and the Emmy Award-winning 10-hour PBS series Carrier. Their projects A PATH APPEARS and Emmy Honors-recipient Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, based on the bestselling books by the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, were two 4-hour broadcast series on PBS and multi-platform initiatives that reached more than 40 million people worldwide, generated 3 billion media impressions and included mobile and Facebook games. Show of Force is currently in production on a new multi-part series, Soundtracks: Songs That Made History, in partnership with Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia / Seven Bucks Productions, as well as a multi-platform initiative on the global refugee crisis being produced through their Social Good division called Humanity on the Move, which harnesses the power of storytelling to create change.

About the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government's investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of nearly 1,500 locally owned and operated public television and radio stations nationwide. CPB is also the largest single source of funding for research, technology, and program development for public radio, television, and related online services. For more information, visit www.cpb.org and follow us on Twitter @CPBmedia, Facebook, and LinkedIn, and subscribe for email updates.

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